The present invention is generally directed to a frame and cabinet arrangement which permits electronic circuit boards to be inserted without the need to open a cabinet to do so. More particularly, the present invention includes a frame for holding a printed circuit board so that it may be inserted into a slot in a first, horizontal direction and, upon hitting a stop mechanism, it is then made to move at right angles to the first direction so as to directly insert an edge connector or similar connector into an appropriately corresponding mating connector. Even more particularly, the present invention provides a system, cabinet and method for inserting electronic circuit boards associated with personal computers or other electronic equipment into appropriately designed and mating cabinetry without having to take any of the covers off. The present invention particularly includes a case or cabinet which is suitable for use with the frame and circuit board assemblies also described herein.
The insertion and removal of electronic circuit boards in personal computers and/or other electronic equipment has, over the years, been associated with the necessity to remove the surrounding cabinetry or covers so that the board may be plugged directly into a mating socket on a mother board. This insertion and removal process, although necessary, is time consuming and unnecessary.
Other individuals have tried but failed to provide a mechanism which produces the most desirable relative motion between the cabinet and the circuit board which is to be placed in or removed from operation. In particular, it should be appreciated that the ideal motion of the circuit board with respect to the connector is one in which the board moves perpendicular relative to the plane with a connector so that, for example, card edge connectors are inserted directly without horizontal movement accompanying the contact. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,869,185 issued to Teagno, an insertion mechanism is provided based upon cam action. However, it is noted that this arrangement results in the contacts and the connector moving in a non-perpendicular fashion with respect to one another at the point of contact. This is undesirable in that it produces unnecessary friction and limits the nature of the connectors which may be employed. In particular, pin connections are unsuitable in this arrangement. Similarly, the design shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,385 issued to Treleaven is also undesirable in that the ultimate connection between contacts on a board and a connector is made via a rotational movement rather than via direct insertion of the (male or female) connector into its (respectively corresponding female or male) mating counterpart.
One of the major problems associated with electronic equipment which employs pluggable circuit cards is that there is an implicit requirement that there be room for insertion of these cards. In particular, the assumption is that the card must be inserted perpendicularly to its mating connector. It is also typically assumed that the distance that the card must be moved in the perpendicular direction is at least equal to the height of the card to be inserted. However, this assumption is overcome in the present invention which only requires a connector's the height (shortest printed circuit board direction) for interconnection. This is particularly true for circuit boards conforming to PCI, AIB, ISA, EISA or MCA Standards. While the present invention is particularly directed to electronic circuit cards conforming to one or more of these Standards, it is not limited hereto and is applicable to any electronic circuit board with a connector along the edge which is to be inserted directly into a mating connector especially when in tight spaces.